Combination of tests and ovarian cancer

Used together, a blood test and an ultrasound scan may be effective in detecting ovarian cancer in its early and more curable stages.Ovarian cancer is 90 percent curable. But early detection is often impossible, because the disease causes few or no symptoms as it begins. For that reason, 70 percent of cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed when the cancer has already reached an advanced stage. In these later stages, the survival rate drops to only 20 percent to 30 percent. For that reason, experts have sought an effective early screening test.Researchers from United Kingdom studied 2,02,638 postmenopausal women between the age of 50 and 74 years to assess the outcomes of initial screening of ovarian cancer. The subjects were randomly assigned either to no ovarian cancer screening or to screening with transvaginal ultrasound plus a blood test that finds a marker for ovarian cancer. The third group was screened using transvaginal ultrasound alone.

It was found that screening was able to identify most women with cervical cancer. The combination of blood test and ultrasound found 90 percent of the cancers, while ultrasound alone found 75 percent of the cancers.Almost 50 percent of all the cancers found were in an early stage (stage I or II) and 48 percent of the more invasive ovarian cancers detected were designated as being stage I tumours. Usually, only 28 percent of ovarian cancers are identified in this early stage.

The findings suggest that both types of screening can be used on a large scale as both successfully pick up ovarian cancers. However, further investigation is required to find out whether ovarian cancer screening can also save lives.

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